Unspoken
by Doverstar
Summary: A short little gift I wrote to my cousin a long, long time back. The cousin in question is in love with Cody. Phineas, Ferb, Autumn, Cody, and Isabella have a few good times in Danville when Cody officially moves to the area with his new foster parents.
1. Chapter 1

"Ferb, I know what we're gonna do today!" 16-year-old Phineas Flynn crowed, springing to his feet in the backyard, grinning his impish grin.

Ferb remained lounging underneath their backyard's only tree, green hair buffeted by the midsummer breeze. "Do tell," he murmured softly in his British accent.

"What if the entire city were made of bounce-house material?" Phineas asked, arms wide. "You could go anywhere you wanted—all within the space of five minutes—and back home before you know it!"

Ferb blinked encouragingly.

"And it'd be fun, for once, to get around," Phineas went on.

"I'm in," Ferb said, shrugging.

"Hey, Phineas," called Isabella Garcia Shapiro, Phineas' girlfriend and childhood next-door neighbor.

"Hey, Isabella!" Phineas replied, brightening immediately when he saw her, his cheeks turning pink rapidly.

Isabella reached them, out of breath, and mumbled something incoherent, still panting.

"Uh, Isabella?" Phineas waved a hand in front of her face.

Isabella gasped. "I'd ask you whatcha doin', but I have some really big news."

"Shoot," Phineas ordered.

She grinned. "It's a surprise. Guess who's moving in down the street?"

Phineas squinted. "You already live here, Izzie."

"No!" laughed Isabella. "Not me. C'mon!"

She grabbed his hand and took off across the road.

Ferb blinked lazily. "No, that's fine; I'll stay here and count clouds."

Phineas' head poked up from behind the fence. "Get over here, big nose."

* * *

Phineas whistled, tilting his head back. "Check it out, Ferb," he said, awestruck. "This place is bigger than any house I've ever seen in Danville."

Ferb whistled along with him.

Sure enough, in front of them was a huge mansion, but it fit perfectly in between two much smaller houses on the street Phineas, Ferb, and Isabella had lived in since they were all toddlers. It was clearly newly built. A moving truck had been positioned in the driveway, where at least three movers were currently carrying large boxes and furniture into the gigantic home.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Isabella smiled at Phineas.

"Sure is," Phineas folded his arms. "Cool surprise, Izzie." He reddened when she took his hand.

"That's not the best part," Isabella giggled. "Follow me."

She led them across the front lawn effortlessly, running right through the new house's open front door.

"Uh, Isabella, isn't this kinda trespassing?" Phineas asked, confused as he and Ferb hurried behind her.

"Not if you know the owner," Isabella winked.

Phineas exchanged a befuddled glance with his stepbrother and followed her up a case of winding, marble stairs.

There they dodged another bulky man carrying two more cardboard boxes marked **FRAGILE**, turning into a room bigger than the kitchen, dining room, and living room in the Flynn-Fletcher house all put together. It was empty, aside from at least three boxes in the corner and a neatly-carved wooden bed against the east wall.

The door to a walk-in closet was open, and currently pairs of red converse shoes were being tossed out, along with a few other garments and a couple of pairs of socks.

"C'mon, c'mon…" came a hoarse voice from inside.

Phineas felt curiosity build within him. He looked back over his shoulder at Ferb as Isabella calmly strolled right into the closet. Ferb motioned for Phineas to go after her.

"Where the heck is it?"

Isabella grinned at Phineas, blocking his view. The light in the closet wasn't on anyway, so it was a bit hard to see without any windows in there.

She leaned down. "They're here."

"Just a sec," came the voice again. "I can't find anything in these stupid things."

Phineas gasped. "Cody!"

Cody Bannister stood up, flicked on a light, and leaned against the wall casually. "Oh good, the welcome party's here."

"Cody!" cried Phineas again, throwing an arm around him as he usually would.

"Phineas!" Cody mimicked the tone of Phineas' voice and stretched his eyes wide.

"It's you!" Phineas added in excitement.

"And it's you," Cody copied. "It's me and it's you!"

"Har-har," teased Phineas, trying without much success to contain his growing joy. "You're moving to Danville?"

"Somebody couldn't keep her mouth shut," Cody pretended to glare at Isabella, who smirked. "So yeah, looks like it."

"For how long?" Phineas asked, elbowing Ferb with a grin.

"According to my calendar…" Cody counted on his fingers, eyelids lowered. "…For…ever. Forever. Don't wanna overstay my welcome."

"You gotta be kidding me!" Phineas crowed. "This is fantastic!"

Cody grinned in spite of his cool attitude. He was wearing his usual outfit—black leather jacket, red T-shirt with the golden $ sign on it, gray jeans with holes in the knees, red converse tennis-shoes. His light brown hair wasn't combed, rather messy as a tuft hung close over one eyebrow. Large amber eyes blinked back at Phineas, betraying his calm outward appearance with a glimmer of his own excitement.

"We've gotta tell—well—everybody!" Phineas exclaimed. He listed off every name that popped into his mind. "Buford doesn't know yet, and neither does Baljeet. Or Candace. Or Mom and Dad—and Ferb, you can tell Vanessa—Autumn! She's gonna freak out, Cody, you know she will!" Phineas elbowed his friend teasingly. "And Isabella—oh—wait—she already knows. And then there's…"

"What, should we throw a parade or something?" Cody raised an eyebrow.

"We can do that," Phineas fist-bumped with Ferb pridefully.

"Being sarcastic," Cody informed him dryly. "Before you do that, there's something very important I need you guys' help with."

"Sure," Isabella volunteered with a smile.

"Certainly," Ferb added softly.

"Okay." Cody took a deep breath. "I can't find my pillow."

Phineas burst out laughing.

Cody fought a smile. He faked a scowl. "How can you laugh at a time like this, dude? Have you _seen _me without a good night's sleep—which I can't get without a pillow?" He narrowed his eyes. "Heads are gonna roll. Do I make myself clear?"

Phineas saluted comically, snickering. "Sir yes sir! Right away, sir!"

"Wonderful," Cody rolled his eyes and smirked. "Dismissed."

Isabella, Ferb, and Phineas all tackled the box at Cody's feet, timing each other to see who would find the missing slumber tool first.

* * *

"My foster parents said they're gonna adopt me," Cody said, tossing the rubber ball he'd found in one of the boxes to Ferb across his new room. "So they asked me where I'd wanna live most if I could choose."

"And you chose Danville," Isabella grinned. "That's so sweet."

"Nah, I chose Alaska. But this jacket isn't warm enough, so Danville was the next best thing," teased Cody.

Ferb tossed the ball to Phineas, who sat cross-legged on the bed. "Perhaps," muttered Ferb, "they intend to make life easier for you than it was before you moved in with them."

"There's that," Cody grunted doubtfully, "and the fact that they've never actually had a kid of their own."

"And you come educated and halfway through hormones," Phineas nudged him and threw the ball to Isabella. "It's a heck of a deal."

"It is to laugh," snorted Cody, elbowing him back. "Anyway, they're trying to spoil me in the best way they know how."

"…Meaning…?" Isabella began sheepishly.

"Giving me all the freedom they think I can handle," Cody shrugged.

"Which, given the results of the past few months, isn't much," checked Ferb.

"Cody," came a sugar-coated woman's voice from the doorway. "Oh, who are your new friends?"

"Not new, Mrs. Grace," Cody informed her. "Phineas, Ferb, Isabella." He pointed to each of them in turn. "They built the 'coaster I was telling you about."

"Well, isn't that nice!" said Mrs. Grace. She was a tall, thin woman with ginger, curly hair that only went to her shoulders. She wore a blue blouse, white pants, and light blue high heels. She balanced a cardboard box of her own on her hip as she stepped into the room.

Phineas waved. "Hiya."

"I'm Mrs. Grace, Cody's foster mother," Mrs. Grace greeted with a too-big smile, shaking Phineas' hand enthusiastically. "Cody's told me a lot about you. You must be Phineas."

"How'd you guess?" Phineas grinned.

"He described you to a _T_," laughed Mrs. Grace. "Right down to that wonderful smile of yours."

She turned to Ferb.

Ferb shook her hand politely blinking.

"That's my brother, Ferb," Phineas explained.

"Well, hello there," chuckled Grace. She glanced uneasily back at Cody. "He doesn't talk much, does he?"

"Ferb's more of a man of action," intercepted Phineas. "But these days he has a lot more to say than he used to."

"I see." Grace gave Ferb another of her plastic smiles and turned to Isabella. Her eyes brightened. "Well, aren't you a pretty young thing!" She said, apparently trying to be discreet and failing miserably as she murmured out of the corner of her mouth to Cody, "Cody, hon, you didn't tell me about this lovely little lady. Is there a talk we need to—"

Cody stopped her, face already red with embarrassment and frustration. He put up a hand. "No, Mrs. G, that's Isabella—_Phineas' girlfriend_." He made sure to look his foster mother in the eye at the last two words.

Isabella looked at her feet. Phineas practically had his hand smothering his entire triangular face. Ferb's face was blank, save for the amused expression in his dull eyes.

"Oh. Oh, please excuse me, I am so sorry," Mrs. Grace said honestly, smiling again apologetically to Isabella as she shook the teenage girl's hand.

"It's okay," Isabella giggled. "I'm still getting used to that title." She cast Phineas a wistful glance, and for once he caught it, face reddening as he looked away shyly.

"Well!" Mrs. Grace sounded triumphant that she'd successfully gotten to meet each of them without eating both feet. She still smiled largely. "It was nice getting to know you all. If you'll excuse me, I have to go unpack." She gave them another paste-on grin and strolled out of the room.

Cody ran a hand through his hair, wincing. "I think she has some kind of mental problem—either that or she's trying to ruin my social life."

Phineas cracked a weak grin of his own. "S'okay, Cody," he replied with raised eyebrows. "She's…something else."

"Yeah, and I get the feeling we could spend all day trying to pick _out_ that little 'something'," Cody muttered bitterly. "Sorry for the stupid stuff she said."

"As long as there's no truth to it," Phineas said, a bit edgily, "It's all good."

Cody now let out a cackle. "Like I'd really be interested in Izzie."

Isabella squinted at him and folded his arms. "Uh, hello—I'm in the room!"

Ferb snorted a laugh.

"My bad—no offense." Cody put up his palms in surrender.

"Imagine what she'd say when she meets Autumn!" Isabella chuckled.

Cody's eyes crossed. "Maybe I can blindfold her whenever Autumn comes over." His face drained of color at the thought of his crush visiting the new house and being greeted by the ever-chipper Mrs. Grace.

"So if you're staying here from now on," said Phineas, rubbing his chin, "what are you gonna do first?"

"Unpack," grunted Cody.

"After that, genius." Phineas folded his arms.

"I dunno." Cody shrugged. "Didn't really think it over." His eyes took on a mischievous gleam. "What are _you _guys doing today?"

Phineas exchanged a glance with Ferb, brightening. "If you're asking to help…"

"Observant, isn't he?" Cody muttered Isabella. "Tell me what to do, Phineas; I know you're dying to."

"Just remember saying that when the day's over," Phineas replied with a knowing look.


	2. Chapter 2

"It's more fun if you jump, Cody!" Phineas called, doing a somersault in midair as he bounced past the grocery store.

Sure enough, Phineas and Ferb had coated downtown Danville in bounce-house material. Every building had been transformed into an inflatable structure. Every road, every car…people all around them found no use for bikes or vehicles that day—why drive when you could bounce to work?

"Yeah, whatever, Phineas," Cody called nervously, standing stiffly, lifting one foot and then the other to test the surface of what used to be the sidewalk.

"Seriously!" Phineas landed beside him and grinned. "You're just delaying the inevitable. Any sudden movement you make will cause you to propel upward!"

"Thanks for the tip," muttered Cody. "I said I'd help you build this stuff, but I never said I'd join in."

"Don't be such a stick in the mud," Isabella giggled, landing on his other side. "You're starting to sound like Damien!"

"He just needs help," said a familiar, husky voice from behind him.

Autumn Karmer gave Cody a shove from behind. Cody, unbalanced and yet not an easy person to catch off guard or push over, stumbled forward and instantly _boinged _into the air.

"That's it!" Phineas crowed as he, Ferb, and Isabella all joined Cody in mid-flight.

Cody didn't stop springing upward, but he didn't do it ungracefully or awkwardly. He simply stuffed his hands into his black jacket's pocket and stood absolutely still, as a statue would, as he continued to bounce.

"Thanks a lot," Cody grunted Autumn's way as she jumped in front of him, clearly enjoying her time. "Like I can't do it myself."

"You were being a dead fish and you know it," teased Autumn, eyes shining with amusement. "Lighten up!"

Cody stared at her and cracked a crooked smile. "Lighten up?" He smirked. "_I _need to lighten up?"

"You heard me."

"We'll see who's light enough!" Cody lunged forward and grabbed her hands, spinning around with her as they bounced down the street.

"I think they've got the hang of it," Ferb muttered to Phineas.

Autumn was laughing gaily.

"Looks like fun, doesn't it, Phineas?" said Isabella with a coy smile behind him.

"Huh? What?" Phineas turned around, a bit shy now.

Isabella giggled and took hold of his hands. They copied Cody's and Autumn's movement, but quite a bit faster. The best part was that they bounced off of everything instead of endangering themselves in any way.

"They're catching up!" Autumn informed Cody as Phineas and Isabella spun toward them.

"Then I guess we better surprise them," Cody grunted.

"Really? And how—" began Autumn, the word _how _trailing into a delighted exclamation as Cody yanked her arms enough to propel them both downward just as Phineas and his girlfriend bounced right over their heads.

"Awesome!" Autumn cackled.

"Yes," Ferb called as he whizzed past them. "Yes it was. Of course, you might have beaten them if you'd spun clockwise."

"No one asked you," teased Cody, watching the green-haired teenager.

Autumn laughed again. "Hey, Phineas!" she called. "Uh, how do you stop?"

"We haven't—Izzie, look out for that fire hydrant—figured that out yet, actually!" Phineas yelled back.

"So, what, we just jump all over the place like this forever?" Autumn muttered.

"Not necessarily." Cody shrugged. "Here, let go."

Autumn obeyed, letting go of his hands as he willed himself to hit the ground with as much force as he could. But he only bounced right back up again.

Autumn was jumping in time with him on the springy, multi-colored surface of what used to be the streets of the city. "How'd that work, boy wonder?" she teased.

"Gimme a minute, gimme a minute," Cody mumbled thoughtfully as he fell downward again.

He leaned down and grabbed the soft material on the ground, keeping his body from shooting up once more.

"Hey!" he called hoarsely up to Autumn. "Try this."

Autumn looked down at him, head hanging as she did so, and took hold of the bouncy matter as soon as her feet hit it. Immediately she was standing again.

"Heh." Autumn spread her arms. "Cool."

"Talk about resourceful," Phineas added as he sprang past them again, moving right with Isabella jumping just after him, grinning. "Nice job, Cody!"

"Wait, Phineas, don't—" began Cody, waving his hands.

Too late. Phineas' sudden movement as he went past Autumn was similar to the effect such an action would have on a trampoline—the entire left side of Autumn's body wobbled, as if she were going to bounce again.

Unbalanced, Autumn stumbled into Cody. He caught her, and the sudden pressure on the bounce-house-like floor beneath them shot them upward.

Autumn arched a brow at him as they both scrambled apart in midair. "Yeah. My hero." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Cody felt heat rushing to his face and looked down as they boinged up again after hitting the ground. "It's not my fault he can't focus on where he's going," he grumbled.

"I heard that," Phineas shouted from farther on. He dodged Isabella again, grinning playfully, and sprang off of the side of a building.

"This is crazy, dude!" Cody called. "Ferb, isn't there some way to take this stuff down?"

Ferb didn't reply, just jumped some more until he landed beside what appeared to be a glorified vacuum-cleaner. In moments he had sucked up every scrap of bounce-house material and the city was normal again.

Phineas and Isabella landed unhurt on the sidewalk, off-balance but standing. Cody and Autumn had already hit the ground just as Ferb had done away with the springy material.

"Works for me," Autumn shrugged.

* * *

"Phineas, come on, we're gonna be late," Isabella called.

"Do I really have to wear this, Izzie?" Phineas groaned, spreading his arms awkwardly as he came down the front steps of her house. He was in a tuxedo.

"As handsome as you look," Isabella told him sweetly, "no. No you don't."

"I can wear it if you want me to," Phineas protested immediately.

"No, you shouldn't be uncomfortable," Isabella retorted kindly. "Go change."

Phineas didn't argue further, grateful his new girlfriend was so understanding. It must help to have one you'd known since kindergarten. He hurried to his own house across the street, changing into his usual yellow, orange-striped hoodie jacket and blue jeans with darker-blue converse shoes, hustling out the door and back over to Isabella's.

"Well?" he asked, striding forward.

"That's better," she teased.

They climbed into Candace's car and she began driving.

"You owe me big-time for this, twerp," snapped Phineas' older sister.

"Hey, what can I say?" Phineas shrugged. "Drivers' test isn't till two months."

"I am not doing this again," Candace warned testily. "I'm telling you: you owe me." She glanced at him in the mirror. "And I will collect."

"Anything you say, sis."

Isabella giggled.

"Where am I taking you, exactly?" asked Candace, calming down.

"Googoplex Mall." Phineas explained.

"We're going on a double-date to the food court with Cody and Autumn."

"And Ferb and Vanessa," added Phineas. "Triple-date."

"Wait, Cody and Autumn are dating now?" Candace scoffed.

"No," Phineas admitted. "At least, that's what Cody said."

Candace snorted. "If the girl thinks it's a date, lemme tell you—it's a date."

Phineas glanced at Isabella. "Is this true?" He pretended to sound shocked.

"It's what we want you to think we want," Isabella said promptly.

"What?" Phineas looked actually confused now.

"Oh, for the love of—look what you made me do!" Candace gestured wildly to the road in front of them as she swerved.

Phineas exchanged a look with Isabella.

"What is it?" she asked Candace.

Candace grunted. "I went right through two red lights. Thanks for distracting me."

"Any time," crowed Phineas.

Candace bit back a smirk and drove faster. "If we're gonna break the law, might as well throw in the speed limit."

Phineas glanced at Isabella in horror and buckled his seatbelt. She grabbed his arm in alarm as Candace gunned the motor. Phineas felt heat rushing to his face and grinned. Maybe his psychotic older sister wasn't ruining everything with her constant bad attitude.

* * *

"If we have to wait in this line any longer…" Autumn muttered.

Cody overheard her. They were at the booth of the best Chinese food Danville's mall had to offer. "I can fix this," he told her casually.

"Yeah?" Autumn raised an eyebrow. "How?"

"Easy," scoffed Cody. "Just say two words."

"Pretty please?"

"Nope."

"Move along?"

Cody studied his nails. "Uh-uh."

"Hurry up?"

Cody shook his head. "Food poisoning."

Autumn grinned and then deflated, sagging her shoulders. "Funny, but that'd be way too weird."

"Luckily," Cody straightened his black jacket importantly. "I am."

"Am what?"

"Weird." Cody put on a nauseated face and doubled over, clutching his stomach. He let out a low, loud groan.

Autumn's eyes widened. "Are you…okay?"

Cody didn't reply. He let out another top-of-his-lungs moan.

The people in front of them, still waiting in line, began to turn around and look.

"What's wrong with that guy?"

"Poor thing's face is as white as a sheet."

"Don't stare, honey, it's impolite."

"Looks pretty green. Hey, kid, you feelin' okay?"

Autumn raised an eyebrow to Cody, concerned. Holding a bit of her hair back from her face, she leaned down toward him. "Uh…Cody…? What's up with you?"

Cody winked at her. Then he went back to moaning. Finally he said, in a deliberately-raised voice, "Ugh—aghh—my stomach's killing me!"

A pair of old Asian women exchanged glances behind the counter, perplexed.

"Cody?" Autumn repeated.

"Man," Cody said loudly, turning his attention to Autumn, "we shouldn't have _eaten_ _that_!"

"Eaten—what are you talking about?" Autumn muttered lowly to him. "We haven't eaten a thing. I'm starv—"

Cody yanked on her sleeve, clearing his throat. "Two words," he coughed out so that nobody else could understand him.

Autumn understood immediately. She stepped away from Cody, making a big show of it. "What," she said, raising her voice, "you mean the food from _Fu Wong's_?" she exclaimed, flinging an arm toward the sign of the restaurant they stood in line at.

Voices began blending in the aforementioned line.

"What's she saying?"

"Something about the food here."

"What about it?" asked one 9-year-old.

"You really look _sick_," Autumn went on, slapping a hand to her cheek dramatically.

Cody flung his head back and groaned.

"Must have been the chicken," added Autumn, glancing around with wide eyes to the people before them.

"_I _ordered the chicken!" exclaimed one man in alarm.

"Not only that," drawled Cody, face creased with pain as he placed a hand on one guy's shoulder, leaning against him and staggering for emphasis, "but what about the _lowmein_? Or the mooncake?"

"This food must be _poisoned_!" Autumn cried, as loudly as she could without screaming it.

"_What _did she say?"

"Poisoned!"

"The food is _poisoned_?"

"Let's get outta here!"

In seconds the line was cleared and Cody had straightened up again.

Applause burst out behind them.

Cody and Autumn whirled around. Phineas, Isabella, Ferb, and Vanessa all stood grinning openly at them.

"Bravo," Isabella laughed.

"Encore, encore!" Phineas added.

Ferb's clapping grew louder. Vanessa was giggling uncontrollably.

Cody folded his arms at them.

Until Autumn grabbed his hand and did a stage-worthy bow with him.

Isabella laughed even harder.

"Thank you, thank you!" Autumn chuckled.

"Hey!" snapped the man behind the booth of _Fu Wong's_. "You wanna put me out of a job?"

"On the contrary," Ferb explained slyly, "that wasn't his intention at all."

"You just scared off all my customers!" the man insisted, furious.

"So we're not considered customers?" Cody grinned almost evilly.

"Well, I…" began the man, flustered.

"Then I guess we'll take our hunger elsewhere," Cody went on, shrugging.

Phineas grinned along with him, but quickly replaced it with a convincing scowl of disapproval to the man, biting back the grin. Isabella smothered another giggle.

Autumn was looking amused. She elbowed Cody. "C'mon, I'm famished. Let's get some food at Mr. Slushy Burger."

"Agreed," added Ferb.

Vanessa blinked, staring down the dude behind the counter.

The man waved his hands. "Never mind, never mind!"

"That's what I thought," Cody smirked, folding his arms again. "Anybody else ready to order?"


	3. Chapter 3

Cody leaned against a pillar in the food court, drink in hand, watching his friend laugh and chat together at the table. Autumn was gesturing with her hands as she told them some story he was sure he'd already been told. Phineas was grinning, eyes brightening when Isabella laughed. Clearly he enjoyed that sound. Vanessa leaned over and said something with a chuckle to Ferb, who blinked and nodded, eyelids lowered, smirking.

Isabella suddenly got up from the table and strolled over to Cody. "I'm gonna get a refill. Wanna come?"

Cody arched a brow. "Don't need one."

"You're coming." She took his arm and dragged him along with her.

Cody rolled his eyes and glanced over his shoulder as they reached the counter of _Fu Wong's _again.

"That was really cool, by the way," Isabella complimented. "And funny."

"The food poisoning?" Cody blinked.

"Yeah." Isabella nudged him as she waited for her refill. "Autumn was impressed."

"Nah," Cody snorted, looking away. He glanced back at her reluctantly. "You think so?"

"Sure." Isabella grinned. "We girls can tell."

"Whatever."

"She likes you back," Isabella reassured him. "You know she does." She took the cup the man behind the counter handed her and sipped it. "Besides, you're on a date right now, aren't you? A triple-date."

Cody looked uncomfortable. "This is _not _a date."

"Just because Phineas and Ferb and I are here?"

"Not only that." Cody sneaked a peek at their friends' table. "I don't think I'm ready for all that dumb mushy stuff."

"But you like her."

"No," Cody shuffled his feet. "No I don't."

"Okay," Isabella shrugged. "De-ni-al!" she sang out.

Cody made a slicing motion with a hand across his neck. "Sshh—zip it, Izzie, she'll hear you."

"I'm just trying to help you get in touch with your inner softie," teased Isabella.

"The only problem is that he doesn't have one," Phineas was suddenly beside them as they reached the table.

"Rub it in, why don't you?" Cody grunted. "Can I help it if I'm romantically challenged?" he hissed, lowering his voice so that Autumn couldn't hear.

"No," Isabella smiled. "_Phineas _was romantically challenged."

"Who says he still isn't?" sneered Cody.

"Hey!" Phineas pretended to sound hurt.

"Just tell her how you feel," said Isabella.

"And then what, start singing?" Cody snorted. "No thanks."

"All right," Isabella said, drawing out the word _right _in an attempt to sound reluctant. "Don't say I didn't help you when the relationship crashes."

"There _is_ no relationship!" snapped Cody.

"Huh?" Autumn looked up from where she was chatting with Vanessa, looking confused.

"Nothing," Cody said quickly.

* * *

"Oh, there you are, Perry." Phineas picked up his platypus and scratched in his pet's favorite spot. Perry let out a delighted chatter.

"Okay." Isabella tapped his shoulder as she strolled by. They were in Phineas and Ferb's bedroom. "We need a theme."

"Theme?"

"For the party, Phineas."

"What party?" Phineas was baffled.

"The one I'm planning this weekend! The Christmas party."

"But it's December 1st. And I thought your family only celebrated Hanukah."

"Where have you been the past year?" Isabella playfully whacked him on the shoulder with her notebook. "We celebrate both now."

"Oh yeah." Phineas scratched the back of his head.

"A theme—so—what've you got so far?" Isabella leaned over his head to see his sketchbook.

Phineas grinned sheepishly. He had been sketching a blueprint.

"Phineas!" Isabella groaned, not really very angry but definitely unhappy. "You're supposed to be helping me."

"Yeah, Isabella, but I got this really great idea about how, if you take a paper plate—"

"I don't have time for this!" wailed Isabella. "Come on, Phineas, help me out."

"I could focus a lot better if Ferb were here," Phineas grumbled to himself.

"Well, he's not," Isabella teased. "So suck it up. You promised you'd help."

"I know, but…" Phineas gestured dismally to his sketchbook.

"There'll be plenty of time for that later!" Isabella declared. She grabbed his arm and yanked him to his feet. "Okay—now—the guest list."

"Oh yeah." Phineas raised an eyebrow. "You're already inviting me."

"Of course!"

"And Ferb."

"Duh."

"And Buford and Baljeet. And Cody. And Vanessa—Candace—Jeremy…" Phineas began counting off of his fingers.

"I didn't invite Autumn," Isabella gasped.

"Not too late," Phineas pointed out.

"Yeah, but what if Cody doesn't want her there anyway?" Isabella said nervously.

Phineas blinked. "…Huh?"

"Phineas," insisted Isabella, "Remember when Cody said she didn't like crowds? Well, there's gonna be a crowd at the party."

"So maybe this'll get her used to it," Phineas replied, unworried.

"Maybe," Isabella shrugged. "I mean, she'll know everybody there."

"When do you think Cody's gonna fess up to his liking her?" Phineas changed the subject.

"I dunno," Isabella said, sighing. "But if he's anything like I was with you, he'll be patient until _she _notices."

"You're confusing me, Izzie. I thought she liked him back."

"Phineas—you're the best—but get with the program, would you?" teased Isabella. "I'm thinking they both like each other but one of them doesn't know they like the other, and if the other figures that out, they _still _won't tell them—"

Phineas' eyes crossed. "Woah, woah, wait." He waved his palms. "You lost me at 'I'm thinking'."

Isabella laughed. "Just keep an eye on them."

"Stalk a confused non-couple at a Christmas party a month from Christmas day. Check."

She hit him with her notebook again. He grinned.

* * *

Ferb tossed his cell phone from hand to hand. "The roads are quite icy, V," he said to Vanessa, neither his voice nor face showing any emotion. "Perhaps we should walk."

"Ferb, we're going down the street if it's the last thing I do. I'm not walking all the way up the hill to Isabella's in these high heels."

"Very well, then." Ferb blinked. "Remove your shoes and go barefoot."

Vanessa laughed. "Yeah, right, Ferbster. Nice try."

Ferb bit back another plea for her safety and checked his watch. 8:30. The sun had already gone down; the days were shorter in winter compared to their length in the summertime he and his brother were so used to. Isabella's party would start officially in ten minutes. Five more and they would be officially _late_. Vanessa hated being late to anything; she complained that her father, Dr. Doofenshmirtz, kept her running late to everything most often. Ferb didn't want to be someone else she'd complain about. _Unfortunately, _he added to himself, _we're all someone else to someone else._ He snorted.

"Hey, Ferb! Ferb!"

Ferb looked up. Phineas was hurrying toward him. He slid, as neatly as a pro skater, down the patches of ice in order to get to them.

"Ferb!" repeated Phineas as he reached his stepbrother and girlfriend. "We thought of a way you can get up and down the road."

Ferb felt a little stung. Phineas had built something without him? This was occurring a lot now that he and Isabella were an item.

"Have you?" Ferb said casually, sliding a hand into his pocket for emphasis.

"Check it out," Phineas said.

Familiar words. Ferb grunted, then glanced up the hill.

Phineas had constructed an escalator on the ground, one wide enough to pull any car up the road to Isabella's driveway.

"Sweet," Vanessa commented.

"Totally," Ferb said, slick British accent unwavering.

Phineas smirked.

* * *

Cody snatched his plate of chips and dip away from Ferb's prying hands. He and the gang were all sitting around Isabella's dining room table, sitting down to so much Mexican food Cody had had trouble trying to figure out what to put on his platter first.

"Ferb, I think you've had enough dip," Phineas put a sympathetic hand on Ferb's shoulder.

Ferb narrowed his eyes. "Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion."

"My opinion is as follows," Cody grunted, mimicking Ferb's vocabulary. "Touch my dip and you're dead meat."

"All I know," Candace snorted, "is that there is a _lot _of dead meat on this table." She eyed the plates and plates of protein. Then she narrowed her gaze at her brothers. "Oh, and don't think I didn't see your little escalator thing up the street."

"It goes down the street, doesn't it?" Isabella asked, confused.

"No, it goes both ways," Phineas assured her.

"Whatever!" exploded Candace. "When mom hears about it, you guys are busted for sure."

"Wouldn't you need proof?" Autumn called at the buffet table.

"I would think that her mother would not believe her if she did _not _have physical, visual evidence," Baljeet added.

"Who asked you?" snapped Candace.

Vanessa raised an eyebrow. "Candace," she said slowly. "Relax."

"Relax? Relax, I don't wanna relax!" Candace waved her arms.

"Sit down and count to ten," Phineas offered. "Always helps me."

Candace, muttering under her breath, took a seat and proceeded to count, nostrils flaring.

Isabella laughed.

"O-okay…" Cody edged away from the table and bumped into Autumn.

Instantly her drink was on the floor.

"My bad," Cody said instantly.

"Leave it, leave it!" exclaimed Vivian Garcia Shapiro, hurrying over with a genuine, dazzling smile and quickly cleaning it up. "No use crying over spilled _jarritos_."

Cody glanced into his own cup, horrified. "This is _what_?"

"Chill," Phineas informed him, amused. "It's just a Mexican soft drink."

"Ah." Cody continued to eye his drink before sliding over to the buffet table to replace Autumn's.

"So," Autumn said slowly. "Wanna go for a walk?"

"What, now?" Cody scoffed. "Kinda rude to walk out on somebody's party."

"Not that this isn't fun," Autumn protested, "'cuz it is. But I just meant someplace less…_crowded_ would be nice."

Cody shrugged. "If it's okay with Izzie, I'm in."

"It is!" chimed Isabella from the table, waving a hand. "Go, go, go!"

"You're startin' to sound like Candace," teased Jeremy.

"Hey!" called Candace indignantly.

Cody exchanged a grin with Autumn and the two of them stepped out into the snow.

* * *

"Let's visit Bartholomew," begged Autumn as she and Cody entered the Park.

"It's freezing out here," Cody admitted. "You sure you don't wanna head back?"

"Of course not."

"Right. Because you're just toasty warm with that one jacket on," Cody teased.

"I am," insisted Autumn, nudging him. "Come on!"

She led the way to the pond and stopped, gasping. Cody, alarmed, caught up with her and looked over her shoulder. The pond was frozen solid, and the flock of ducks the two teenagers knew and loved were currently sliding across its surface in the moonlight on their large, webbed feet.

Cody cackled. "Look, look at Freckles!"

They turned the attention to the mother duck of Bartholomew. She had fallen with the chin of her bill and her feathery chest onto the ice, wings stuck underneath herself, tail in the air. Her feet were pedaling through the air, and she was trying to both stand up and move forward at the same time without much success.

Autumn laughed, doubling over. "That is _hysterical_!"

"Should we help 'em?" Cody glanced at her.

She glanced back up at him. "Last one on the ice gets hit with a snowball!"

"Or I could hit you with one right now and be done with it," Cody coughed.

"You wouldn't dare!" Autumn was haring off toward the pond.

"Wait—stop!" Cody's voice grew serious just before Autumn set foot on the ice.

"What?" Autumn looked back at him, alarmed. "What is it?"

"Don't move." Cody past her, putting an arm in front of her to keep her from following him, and slowly edged out onto the ice. He tested it, pressing down with his black, red-striped winter boots. "Okay, it's safe."

"Good!" Autumn hit him smack in the nose with a snowball.

"Hey!" Cody wiped it off and picked up a handful of slush from the ice below him.

Freckles and her mate Verde, both ducks used to these particular humans by now, nibbled at his hand and swallowed most of his ammo.

"If you wanna help," Cody said condescendingly to the ducks, "you can. But don't blame me if she gets you harder than you expect her to." He knelt down toward Verde and whispered behind a hand comically, "She's a pretty good shot."

"Why, thank you." Autumn slid over to him. Unbalanced, she wobbled. "Woah!"

Cody caught her arm. "Careful," he teased. "We wouldn't want you falling down—vulnerable to snowballs and all." He pulled his out from behind his back, tossing it up and down in his hand mischievously.

"Don't even think about it," Autumn growled. "I thought you were protecting me."

"Oh yeah?" snorted Cody, amused as he skated backwards in circles around her.

Autumn looked impressed. It seemed he had more talents than she'd ever given him credit for. "Yeah."

"What gave you that idea? I could paste you with this thing right now if I wanted to." Cody took on the face in the likeness of a little boy who had just pulled his water balloon out on an unsuspecting, dry victim.

"Does this sound familiar?" Autumn flung her hand dramatically in front of him and imitated his scratchy, low voice. "'Don't move'," she uttered. "'Lemme test the ice first! Better me than you.'"

"That last part was all improv'," Cody accused her, cheeks turning red.

"But you were thinking it." Autumn teased.

"How much TV do you watch?" Cody snorted.

"Enough to figure out what you men are thinking."

"Nah, if you knew what we were thinking, you'd stay away."

"Oh, really?"

"Really."

"And what might you be thinking, tough guy?"

Cody pulled his palm down across the air in front of his face, pasting on an expressionless face. "Not a thing. It's all blank."

"All the time?"

"All the time."

"What about when you think up cool stuff like at _Fu Wong's_?" Autumn asked, wobbling again. He steadied her and led her back to the bank, sitting with a soft crunch beside her in the snow.

"That's sudden bursts of intelligence when I rub my two brain cells together to create a spark," joked Cody sarcastically.

"It was still awesome."

"Thanks." Cody looked away. Finally he heaved a sigh, standing up. "So," he cleared his throat. "Ready to head back?"

"We didn't see Bartholo—" began Autumn, disappointed.

A quack interrupted her. The yellow-brown duckling Bartholomew came waddling up, nudging his little bill underneath Autumn's hand and shaking his downy, fluffy feathers out. Autumn stroked him, smiling.

"Found him," Cody muttered.

Autumn stood. "Gotta go, buddy," she told Bartholomew, starting to walk away. "Part of me wishes I could take him home."

Cody caught up to her. "What's stopping you?"

"No pets allowed at my apartment place."

"Bad luck," sympathized Cody. "So remind me again what your deal is with crowds?"

"I told you this," Autumn huffed. "I keep thinking when you're around your friends you forget me."

"And I told _you _that won't happen," Cody replied, sympathy melting. "My friends are all crazy about you anyway."

"Yeah?" Autumn glanced at him hopefully. "How do you know?"

Cody shrugged. "I just know them, that's all. You're new. You can't say they aren't making you feel welcome."

"Watch me," retorted Autumn.

"Are you kidding me?" Cody scoffed. "They've been all over you since you met them. And they aren't gonna back off until you feel like one of the 'gang'." He rolled his eyes and made quotation marks with his fingers. "Take it from someone who knows."

"You've got some pretty cool friends," Autumn admitted. "One of them has green hair. The other one's psycho about ratting on her little brothers. Phineas is the most interesting human being on the face of the planet. Isabella's like the one-year-younger sister I never had."

"See?" Cody elbowed her. "They're not gonna do anything to hurt you."

"That's just it," Autumn burst out suddenly. "They're all so unique—they could swipe your attention in, like, a heartbeat!"

"We've been over this," Cody muttered. He was getting sick of repeating himself. Why couldn't she just believe him? "We're best friends. Right? So I'm not gonna be like everybody else."

She didn't answer.

Cody sighed, exasperated. "I told you—I don't think about anything else when you're around. I'm not gonna ditch you anytime soon." He looked away.

"I didn't think you would," Autumn reassured him.

"_What_?" Cody spluttered. "You just said—"

"See what great lengths girls will go to get compliments?" teased Autumn.

"Okay, _that _deserves a snowball." Cody scooped up a handful of snow.

Autumn shrieked. "You couldn't catch me if you tried!"

"Who said anything about catching you?" Cody retorted. He drew his arm back, ready to fling the snowball straight at her. "When you've got aim as great as mine, you don't have to run."

"Oh, yeah right!" Autumn snorted.

The snowball whizzed through the air.

_SMACK!_

Autumn busied herself brushing the remains of the snowball off of her jacket, glaring at Cody comically.

Cody, hands behind his back, eyelids lowered, stepped around her as they reached the Park's gate. "Say it," he teased.

"Say what?" Autumn raised an eyebrow.

"I was right. You were wrong. And I'd like to get that in writing."

"Oh, please!" Autumn rolled her eyes.

"Hey, it's not every day a guy hears a girl tell him she was wrong," Cody smirked.

"Okay, okay. You were right—I was…"

Cody raised both eyebrows expectantly.

"Less right." Autumn smirked back.

Cody faked a mournful groan. "If that's as good as I'm gonna get…"

"It is."

"Fine." Cody strolled along beside her. "Last one to Isabella's has to eat slush!"

"_What_?"


	4. Chapter 4

Phineas clapped his hands. "Okay, Izzie, you ready?"

"Ready. But Phineas, you're not good at rapping."

"So?"

"So this song has rapping in it."

"We won't sing that part. Let's just do the short version." Phineas shrugged. "But we have to get this done before lunchtime."

Ferb blinked. "What assurance would we have that when we finish lunch will already be prepared?"

"I dunno," Phineas replied. "I think it probably will. Hit it, Izzie!"

**(** h t t p : / / w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m / w a t c h ? v = H r F x S - s 7 o - Y & f e a t u r e = y o u t u . b e ** )**

Isabella: "_What we have is unspoken,_

_It's a silent kind of emotion,_

_Every time your eyes are wide open,_

_Maybe I can read your mind._

_It's unspoken,_

_And my heart's not gonna get broken,_

_'Cuz we don't need any devotion,_

_When our love stays in our eyes!_

_Unspoken, it's a silent kind of emotion,_

_Any time your eyes are wide open,_"

Phineas: "_Yeah!_"

Isabella: "_Maybe I can read your mind!_"

Phineas: "_Read your mind—_"

Isabella: "_It's unspoken, _

_And my heart's not gonna get broken,_

_'Cuz we don't need any devotion,_

_When our love stays in our eyes!_"

Phineas put up his guitar. "A-a-a-a-and, that's a wrap! Great singing, Izzie."

"The short version isn't very satisfying, is it?" Isabella teased as she set the microphone down. They were practicing a certain song in the Flynn-Fletcher garage.

"Not really," Phineas grinned. "But it's good enough for my growling stomach. Let's—"

"What on Earth is going on out there?" snapped Candace, who stuck her head into the garage from the door leading into the house.

"Out where?" Phineas glanced at Ferb.

"Don't play dumb with me!" Candace growled. "Outside. It's a madhouse!"

"In the…back…yard?" Phineas tested, raising an eyebrow. "Candace, are you okay?"

Candace's left eye was twitching. "I'm _fine_, but the backyard is _not_. What have you done out there?"

"Uh…" Phineas blinked.

"Nothing," Isabella answered for him, confused.

"Perhaps Candace's version of nothing contradicts our version," Ferb suggested.

Phineas shrugged. He led the way outside, opening the gate to the backyard.

Isabella gasped and grinned. Phineas laughed.

Cody and Autumn, along with Baljeet and Buford, sat in the grass while Bartholomew, Verde, Freckles, and the rest of Danville's ducks amused themselves in a miniature playground.

"You're not the only ones who can build stuff in their spare time," called Autumn, smirking.

"Took most of the morning," Cody added.

"What happened to all the snow?" Isabella asked. The backyard was clear of sludge.

"We used the last of it to throw at Candace," Buford explained with an evil gleam in his eye.

"And they missed," Candace chimed in triumphantly.

"But at least it made room for the playground," Autumn went on.

"Cool!" Phineas hurried to join them, Ferb and Isabella on his heels. "What if we made it bigger?"

"Here it comes," Cody teased, elbowing Autumn. She elbowed him back.

"Two more slides, a miniature ice-skating lake under the tree—Ferb, I know what we're gonna do today!"

"Okay," Autumn muttered. "I guess they are pretty cool."

"Say it now," Cody ordered. "You owe me."

"Fine, fine," Autumn sighed. "You were right, I was…"

"Say it!" demanded Cody playfully.

"Wrong. I was wrong. There. Satisfied?"

"Completely."

Bartholomew ran into Baljeet's foot. The Indian teenager jumped in alarm.

"Imagine what'd happen if it'd been a snake," Cody crowed to him.

"Knock it off!" Baljeet snapped. "Do not say that!"

"A really big snake," agreed Autumn. "With green eyes."

"Poisonous fangs," Ferb offered.

"Stop it!" Baljeet wailed.

"Not that this isn't fun," Candace hissed, "but I am so telling mom."

"Why?" Phineas asked. "We didn't build this."

"But you—" Candace began, flabbergasted. She slumped. "Oh, all right. Whatever. But if you add any more to it, I think you know what I'll have to do."

"Bust us?" Cody suggested helpfully.

"Exactly."

Phineas laughed. Life was pretty good. Now if only Isabella would stop talking about trying to get Cody and Autumn together.

Of course, that was an entirely different story…


End file.
